Returning Mauritians policy set to fail

The proposed 2015 budgetary measures to attract non-resident Mauritians (NRM) to serve their country are very appealing, and an applaudable initiative to inject new capital, utilise international experience, and spur business productivity. Via shared-knowledge, the local workforce will benefit from new practices, face thought-provoking ideas, and develop new skills to tackle an increasingly internationalised economy more effectively. However, for this to succeed, the policy must attract those NRMs who want to invest and set up a business, rather than those who intend to spend their retirement days in the sun. The key question is how best to target, attract and retain these entrepreneurial NRMs. With its warm climate and social scene, most NRMs would relish the idea of returning to Mauritius to invest, however the lack of opportunities and restrictive local business practices seem to be the greatest stumbling blocks. Despite facilitation measures announced through the Board of Investment, Mauritius is well known for egregious instances of political interference, monopoly in certain sectors, unfair competition, lack of transparency, and administrative red tape… Promises made to the contrary by the Finance Minister, and all the Doing Business in Mauritius rankings, Transparency International surveys, World Bank reports, will not be persuasive enough for NRMs to relocate to Mauritius.
Business and intellectually savvy NRMs will calculate the risks before taking the leap, and based on current state of affairs would most likely prefer to remain where they are, until there is clear tangible evidence of the contrary.
Enticing NRMs with economic benefits is simply insufficient, it requires wider consultation to gain meaningful traction.
Notwithstanding economic restructuring, there are equally considerations to be made at the level of private and public services, education, health, security, and the application of the rule of law. Can Mauritius offer a similar level of comfort in these aforementioned areas compared to countries abroad? Until a sound business and living environment is created, these measures will have the opposite intended effect, and instead of attracting NRM economic players and reversing the brain drain, the Finance Minister has inadvertently opened the door to the outsourcing of senior NRMs.